UFC women’s bantamweight is the most decorated boxer to ever compete in MMA. She went undefeated in seven pro fights outside the UFC, and would have been in sooner, but her team knew her worth. She then won two in a row in the UFC and next defeated the seemingly undefeatable Ronda Rousey, taking her title.
Holm lost her belt in her first defense, to Miesha Tate, via technical submission (The Preacher’s Daughter gamely went out). Then she lost her next fight, to Valentina Shevchenko. So Holm went 0-2 in 2016. However, her career has seen an improbable turnaround – at UFC 208 she fights for the league’s inaugural featherweight belt and is a favorite vs. #10 ranked women’s bantamweight contender Germaine de Randamie. And in a recent interview with Damon Martin for FOX Sports Holm said she doesn’t want her career to be defined by kicking off Ronda Rousey’s belt and head.
There’s a lot of pressure,” she said. “What is Holly going to do now at 145 coming off two losses? She’s never been here before. She’s coming off the highlight of her career to two losses in a row. The most unsuccessful year of my entire fighting career.
There’s this anticipation and curiosity and that’s OK with me. My thought process is just keeping it focused on good. It is pressure. I want to use it as good motivation. Use it as motivation that will make me train hard and get ready.
I don’t want my whole career to be defined around getting the belt from Ronda. I want my career to be defined by me being the best fighter I can be and accomplishing the biggest things I can, from whatever competition comes in front of me.
So I want this for me for my career. I don’t want it to just be around the one fight. I want them to remember everything after. I want to be able to do a lot in this career still.
If Holm wins at UFC 208, she becomes the first women’s two-division winner in UFC history, joining just three men – Randy Couture, BJ Penn, and Conor McGregor.
Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to have the chance to make history and it give that extra motivation for it, said Holm. It’s one of those things, how can you not get excited preparing for something like that? That you can make history.
It’s the first belt at that weight and the chance to fight for a second belt in the UFC after coming from boxing. It motivates me for sure.
